Can Indian IT companies outrun global giants

The world seems to have become a global village, and the age of digitization seems to consume us at an alarming rate. We use the word “alarming” not in a derogatory sense; but it certainly is marvelous how the digital world or the digital revolution, as some refer to it, has completely taken over our lives. Sitting in India, one cannot help but wonder, “Where does India fit into all this?”, or “Has India been able to live up to the mark?” or even “Is India able to compete with the global giants?” None of the questions posed above have straight cut answers. We cannot just say yes or no to them; they require us to probe deeper, dig below the surface and reach a conclusion of our own.

In Europe, the concept of GAFA is well known. It refers to the four major social giants, namely Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon which have managed to revolutionize the world and our lives completely – to an extent where we cannot imagine a time when Google or Facebook didn’t exist. Think about it. Or maybe you’d rather Google it. See? Our lives are practically impossible without these four.

The web design and web development business, that is largely dependent on java outsourcing, is a major industry in India. This very year, the industry related to information technology has grown by 27.1 %, which is massive considering the slower growth rates in most countries.

Digital colonialism

This is where the concept of digital colonialism comes in. So you have a Facebook account. Cool enough. But you do realize that you’re willingly putting up most of your private information for the public to see? Moreover, this is information that will be used by the social networking giant to analyze you and use you to their advantage? Let us provide you with another example. If you’re interested in a particular book or an item on Amazon, you look it up, add it to your cart and might even log out without purchasing it. Now if you’re on Facebook, you would get reminders and suggestions from Amazon till you, now fed up by them, visit the site and actually make the purchase. Thus you see how these companies control our lives? They use the information you provide them with to manipulate you to their economical advantage.

Can Indian IT companies really outdo global giants?

With respect to what was discussed in the previous section, we must take into account the various approaches that exist with regards to the social media giants globally. In the United States of America, they are largely seen as a means of exercising power in the post industrial era, and are used for national intelligence and security purposes. In some other countries, there is a check on the way these platforms are used. Countries like China and Russia exercise censorship on these platforms and as a matter of fact, preference is given to their domestic or local IT companies more than these global giants. That allows home grown businesses to flourish. In the European Union, litigation and regulation are used to control the usage of these platforms.

In India, these companies lure us in by attempting to provide free services. But at what cost? Yes, you are being able to reach out to your near and dear ones in different parts of the country and that too without having to pay for it. But is that really the case? Think about it. You are allowing these platforms to completely invade your privacy by signing up the terms and agreements. How is that fair? As Indians, we cannot afford to have litigation and regulation like some countries. Nor can we afford to censor the usage of these websites. After all, if these platforms are used correctly, we stand to gain a lot from it. Plus, regulating and litigating global giants like Amazon, Facebook, Google and Apple would cost a lot of taxpayers’ money and that is a massive loss which the Government of India cannot risk.

The only way Indians can hope to outdo the global giants is by means of two very basic resources that most companies lack – education and intelligence. Now you might laugh this off and say that a majority of Indians are illiterate. How is that supposed to help us outdo global giants? But if you really think about it, the information technology industry in India is run by a bunch of brilliant minds who know what can take our country to the top.

It would be really unfair to say that India is lagging behind in the race, because that would be an inaccurate representation of the facts. Instead, India has shown its true potential in the way the IT industry has made rapid progress in the recent years. Experts claim that with a careful utilization of its available resources, java outsourcing and with the government leading the way, India has a fairly high chance of outdoing the global giants who dominate the technology business.